State Representative Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine) announced that he will introduce legislation during the 2018 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly that would create the Joint Study Committee on the Establishment of a State Space Commission. The study committee would examine the need for a State Space Commission in Georgia and determine if such a commission would help advance commercial space policy in Georgia.

“Forming a space commission would allow our state to aggressively recruit the commercial space industry to Georgia, much like the state has recruited the film industry,” said Rep. Spencer. “It is clear that the commercial space industry would have a great impact to our state’s economy, and a space commission may be necessary for Georgia to remain competitive, show our interest in becoming a space state and keep our state the No. 1 state for business. We have already passed space-friendly legislation in the last few years, House Bill 1 (2017) and House Bill 18 (2015), and this commission is the next step in attracting the commercial space industry to our state.”

This study committee would work with other state agencies, such as the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Economic Development Center for Aerospace Innovations, to study the effectiveness of space commissions and space authorities in other states and evaluate if such a commission would be viable in Georgia. If created, the goal of the State Space Commission would be to aggressively recruit the spaceflight industry to establish and expand operations in Georgia and work to advance collective commercial space policy.

Rep. Spencer’s announcement follows the release of a report from the Camden County Board of Commissioners finding that an aerospace research park in Camden County would result in expanded job growth and investment opportunities for both county residents and aeronautical firms. The Camden County Board of Commissioners recently released a report by Astralytical, a space analytics firm, finding that the Spaceport Camden Innovation and Research Park would attract space-related businesses to coastal Georgia. The aerospace research park is a part of Camden County’s continued efforts to develop a spaceport and obtain a launch site operators license from the Federal Aviation Administration.